


Mum, I'm dating

by dustenigmas



Series: What Marisa could have been [3]
Category: His Dark Materials (TV), His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Genre: F/F, F/M, Jealousy, Mother-Daughter Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 13:55:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29190402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dustenigmas/pseuds/dustenigmas
Summary: Years after her first arrival in the new world, Marisa has her sixth sense that Lyra is lying to her.[...] "She's lying to me, I know it. I know her.""I know her too, but if she says she's studying with some friends for her final exams, why wouldn't we believe her?" Mary had a point, Lyra had never lied to either of them, not for something meaningful. [...]
Relationships: Lyra Belacqua & Marisa Coulter, Lyra Belacqua/Will Parry, Marisa Coulter & Mary Malone
Series: What Marisa could have been [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2105424
Kudos: 26





	Mum, I'm dating

**Author's Note:**

> Since Ruth Wilson was not chosen at Golden Globes I needed some relief, so I decided to write another part of the series "What Marisa could have been". I hope you enjoy it!

Marisa knew that one day Lyra would say that she was dating and that she really liked some boy... or girl. The young woman didn't know what would be worse, a boy whom Lyra could easily manipulate, but who would probably break her heart into little pieces, or a girl who she couldn't manipulate and who would contaminate her with sin. 

She was a hypocrite and knew it. 

Mary always told her that one day she would have to accept that her daughter would make the same choices as her since Marisa chose to stay with the doctor and have a relationship - although this took at least three years. According to Marisa, this was a trauma that Asriel left in her heart and mind, she didn't want to get involved with anyone, not in a serious way, which always pushed Mary away; The luck was that the doctor was persistent and didn't give up on Marisa not even for a moment. Mary was in love not only with the young scientist she welcomed to Oxford University when she finished her doctorate but also with the little child she proudly carried in her arms class after class. 

The world they lived in was modern in many ways, but women going to classes with a baby was still something unusual. Hopefully, the world would benefit from more such visions. Marisa proved to Mary and all the teachers at the university that she was more than capable, that she was the best student in her class. It was no surprise that they offered a scholarship to the university so that Marisa could continue her studies in dark matter, especially alongside Mary Malone. They formed the most powerful duo that the university could foresee. 

So, as both were academics and lived in the corridors of the university, young Lyra was always there since baby. All the staff knew her, the little girl played with the teachers' and gardeners' children, had dozens of friends, and was very sweet. A remarkable girl, a troublemaker, but remarkable. 

Marisa was always proud of Lyra, her little girl was very special. As a mother, she had a sixth sense and knew that some things would change, she realized that Lyra arrived late than usual, that Lyra was trying to dress better - her daughter had never minded her looks and always mocked her mother's dress tips, and especially that her daughter was lying. Marisa was the master of lies and half-truths, she needed to be the best at it because she was from another world, a world where she had no opportunity and would have been condemned to a life away from her daughter, a place dominated by men and their retrograde ideas. Even in that new world, where she could not tell the truth about who she was, her origin, and her family, who had to hide her daemon every day in her purse. Repressing a part of herself. 

"Lyra is different, Mary." Marisa mentioned one evening her companion while they were washing the dinnerware. 

"Marisa, you are being paranoid. Lyra is just growing up and learning to be her own person without needing your approval". 

Marisa was not convinced by Mary's words, she even took offense. Her maternal instinct showed that something was wrong and her little lying daughter, aged 16, would soon be caught. 

"She's lying to me, I know it. I know her." 

"I know her too, but if she says she's studying with some friends for her final exams, why wouldn't we believe her?" Mary had a point, Lyra had never lied to either of them, not for something meaningful. The little girl said half-truths, but to her mother and the doctor, she was always as true as possible - the fear of Marisa's punishments was greater than anything. 

Mother and daughter had a good relationship. They fought because Lyra did not have the same malice as her mother, the girl had never suffered a loving disappointment, she had never had to manipulate everyone to get what she wanted. It was difficult for Marisa to understand that her daughter was growing up and that in a few years she would leave home, starting her own academic life far from Oxford, since the girl wanted to go to France to study arts - which was a reason for a family quarrel. 

Marisa punished her daughter only twice in her entire life because her daughter had kinda lied to her. For Mary it was hypocrisy, she knew how lying Marisa was, but as a mother she understood why Lyra was repressed, the girl could not grow up lying around and expecting no consequences. Lyra was not and would never be a master of lies like her mother, a quality Mary admired as much as she disgusted. After those occasions, when Lyra was 8 and 12 years old, they never again had a problem with lies, which made it difficult for Marisa to clarify why she distrusted her daughter. 

The young woman frowned when she remembered that Lyra's two lies were about activities with children. Boys. She did not know what would be worse, a boy or a girl with her innocent little girl. 

After they had finished tidying up the dinnerware, Mary hugged Marisa and distributed a series of little kisses around her neck, stopping near her ear. 

"Our little girl is fine, Marisa. You raised her well, she knows best". 

Marisa was tense. 

"That's my fear. I'm not ready for a scientist to walk through that door with Lyra." 

That night Mary laughed and tried her best to distract her worried mother, her efforts took effect. Marisa slept without mentioning Lyra in the next conversations and did not fight with her daughter when the girl arrived two hours after the curfew agreed. 

Only two weeks after Marisa had her suspicions confirmed. Lyra was with someone. Lyra had grown up. Lyra was no longer a little girl. 

"Mom, Mary, I want you to meet Will." Lyra was all smiling, holding hands with Will, hoping that her happiness would appease the nervous figure in front of her. The girl brought her boyfriend to dinner, but by surprise.

As expected, Marisa was unresponsive and made some comments about the boy, wanting to know more about the young Will's family, his tastes, future plans, and what he wanted with his daughter. His daughter. 

"I intend to study arts with Lyra in France." 

"Are you going to France just to stay with him, Lyra?" Marisa can't avoid the question. 

Mary stopped eating and looked shocked at her companion, who continued to eat the salad from the plate with the greatest calm, even though she couldn't take her eyes off Will's hand - he held one of Lyra's shoulders with affection. 

"Mother! Of course not, our plans only match. I've wanted to study arts forever, you know that Mary knows that. Don't you, Mary?" 

"Yes, dear. Your mother and I have known about your dream forever." Mary tried to appease the mood at the table. 

"But why in France? Oxford has art studies too, you even know some of its teachers." Marisa said. The young woman didn't know whether she was more bothered by the fact that her daughter was determined to leave, to study in another country, or whether it was because that young man was accompanying her. Lyra would see more Will than she did. 

Marisa felt a lump in her throat. She felt that she was losing Lyra, physically and emotionally. 

"Mother, we've talked about this. Can't we talk about something else? I commented to Will that you may have to travel next year to Dallas to give a lecture on dark matter. Will found it fascinating." Lyra tried to relieve her mother by inflating the researcher's ego. 

Marisa just smiled. She couldn't form words. 

"Your mother and I are very excited. It won't be our first lecture, but we always look forward to events like this. Do you know anything about dark matter, Will?" Mary tried to bring it up with the boy and it was like that all through dinner. 

Will and Mary got along very well and even laughed. Mary allowed him to taste even one of her favorite liqueurs, to Marisa's disgust, who didn't want the boy to have access to an alcoholic drink. 

At the end of dinner, Will left and Lyra accompanied him to the door. 

Mary looked accusatively at Marisa. 

"You didn't even make the effort to meet him." 

"Don't go there. You were the only one to offer an alcoholic beverage to a minor". Marisa wanted to fight, she would say anything to fight and discount her frustration and jealousy.

"What did you think of Wil?" Lyra interrupted the conversation, she didn't realize that the women were in the middle of a possible argument that would end up with Mary sleeping on the sofa. 

"I found him a lovely, polite, and very nice boy. He seems to care about you, dear. If you're happy, then so am I, but I think you and your mother need a minute alone". Mary passed like a hurricane through Marisa, the doctor was upset with her companion's posture. 

"Mother...?" 

Marisa took a deep breath. 

"I knew something was wrong. Her arrivals after curfew, the little lies. I knew it. I knew it and I don't like it, Lyra. I don't accept that you make me feel paranoid. You're my daughter, and if we have no confidence, we have nothing." 

Lyra did not expect that, of course, she thought her mother would not be happy to meet Will, she knew how jealous and possessive Marisa was. Her mother was an enigmatic figure, a woman who was warm to everyone and showed false sympathy, a woman who did not like to share what she considered her - in this case, Mary and Lyra. 

" I am sorry, Mother. I didn't know how to say I was liking someone, I wanted to discover this new sensation for myself first". 

"I knew that you were growing up, that one moment or another you would fall in love with someone. As much as it bothers me, and believe me it bothers me... a lot. I accept, I have to accept. But I don't tolerate lies, Lyra. Especially if they're on a boy's account." 

"I'm sorry, Mother."

"You are grounded. I don't know what that punishment will be, but you are."

Lyra nodded, she had no way of defending herself against her mother's arguments. 

Mother and daughter were in a strange atmosphere, tense, full of unspoken things, of words that they wanted to get out and that they couldn't. Lyra was sorry to have disappointed her mother, and Marisa was still jealous. 

"Mother!" Lyra called her mother, preventing her from going into the room with Mary. 

"Yes?" Marisa turned. 

" Taking away all the lies and excuses, did you like WIll?" Lyra crossed her arms as if she were preparing for the worst answer. 

"He's well-mannered." 

To Lyra those words were all, her mother approved of Will, though she knew she was jealous and proud enough never to admit it.


End file.
